Flour Rules
(midwest.social)
Zizzy
196And you thought i was out of black bars
There are really 2 problems:
- Flour is essentially dust. It's really hard to find a good way to package dust.
- Flour is really, really cheap. The packaging needs to remain a small fraction of the overall cost.
Can't we please have more compostable packaging? Seriously.
Paper bags are perfectly fine tho...
maybe science can figure out a better way than half ass origami to seal them though.
ye its called a glass flour jar to pour in.
anything to not be put in yet another plastic container. it’s perfect the way it is.
I feel like a cardboard cylinder would be more manageable
You took the comment right out of my fingers.
Is anyone searching for the "best way" or are they picking the cheapest acceptable option?
So many things would be better suited to the grocery store having large hoppers of the item that you fill your own containers with. Either the hopper counts out how much is fed through, or you sit the empty container beneath the hopper on a scale, zero it, and then fill and get the weight printed on a little sticker. We have this technology for jelly beans and coffee grounds, but apparently it's far too advanced for anything else
Find a co-op grocery store, everyone I’ve been to has had a bulk section
THE place to buy spices
In canada we have a chain called bulk barn that does this. Grains, nuts, candy, dog food and spices.
I don't think bulk barn allows you to bring your own container, you have to use their plastic bags
The Bulk Barn near me has "Sustainable Sundays" where you get a 10% discount for bringing your own containers.
They allow certain containers. But mostly people use single use plastic bags and create far more plastic film garbage than they would by buying regular packages. One thing you are not allowed to do is to reuse your prior bags - food cleanliness regulations because leftover almonds dust from one week might contaminate this week's almonds.
Or you use last week's peanuts bag and contaminate the "not peanuts" hopper that the folks allergic to them use.
It's definitely still way less packaging. Those flimsy bags have way less plastic than the thick ass packages from the grocery store, and that's not even counting all the things that are individually wrapped or have extra packaging like those plastic clamshell containers.
Here in the Germanies, we have these Unverpackt ("non-packaged") shops which do this: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unverpacktladen
Unfortunately, these are also mainly just a thing in larger cities.
Although, here in town, we have like a weekly farmer's market where a guy shows up with a truck that has a shopfront in the side, and you just hand him your containers, then he fills them up with what you want and weighs them. Always feels a bit like buying sweets at a fair, and not just because the guy also has sweets. 😅
One time, a family was ahead of me and the mum had brought a glass jar for each child. And then the kids got to pick what sweets they wanted, like one scoop of jelly worms and one scoop of sour things and one scoop of ...I don't what sweets are called. That was also really fun. 🙃
I've seen one of these stores flounder and fail in a matter of a few years. I passed it by many times and I never saw anyone buy anything, or even enter there.
Although I felt sorry for the people running it, I would have never bought any of the sort of stuff they had on display anyway, whether packaged or not. Except for chocolate, and I really prefer mine bar-shaped.
What sort of stuff did they have? You wouldn't buy flour and other bulk dry goods?
I once bought something at one of these stores. Was in need for a specific kind of sugar for a recipe and they had it. Honestly it's probably mostly failing on price point and convenience, because a) most of the products they sell are organic and high quality; so more expensive and b) you have to know what you want to buy beforehand so you can bring your own containers... Also the store was in an awkward location and not well advertised.
Yeah, we don't make companies recycle/reuse the trash that they wrap around food and it's dirt-cheap to produce more plastic trash, so somewhat unintuitively, it's not really cheaper to buy food without packaging.
And at that point, you need to have customers that are willing to bring their own containers, just because they themselves want to reduce trash. Those kind of customers will also want organic, so now you're more expensive. 🫠
Welp, if you're willing to buy organic anyways, it's kind of cool, because it's a selection of food worth buying.
One time, the guy also let me try unroasted peanuts, which I probably would not have bought otherwise. Like, that's also kind of cool, that they can have more exotic foods, because you can just try a nibble of it, or buy like a single portion, if it needs to be cooked/prepared...
50 lbs paper bag on the floor next to your oven is the way.
fabrics. with designs.
with the way things are headed, flour sack dresses are gonna make a comeback.
https://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2024/07/common-threads-how-depression-era-women-turned-feed-sacks-into-fashion/
Yeah. Right until you get moths.
I gotchu
Now that's efficient!
A for effort.
nobody can afford crops in this economy
It was the last meme I have at the moment and I couldnt resist
You couldn’t resist not cropping your shit again?
for the meme
Wait ,why it has to be cropped? Did i lost smth?
Idk paper bags seem fine to me. Rather that than plastic
It's just the overly strong glue that bothers me. I want to be able to open the bag without ripping a hole in it. Like having a garment with thread stronger than the fabric, the fabric will tear.
They spill everywhere and you cant reseal them leaving it possible for bugs to get in. But i have to agree theyre better than a plastic container
Then buy a reusable container like everyone else who's ever bought more than one bag?
Is this bug thing a problem you have? I never seen a bug in my flour all my life
If it's not irradiated it has eggs, if you don't use it quickly, parking it in the freezer for a couple weeks kills them.
I know ours isn't irradiated because I use it for sourdough but use it quickly because sourdough. But back when I didn't bake much I did have to freeze it, or bugs. Rice too.
You can buy a container and dump them into that. There are a lot of options around, metal and ceramic.
Open the flour over a trash can to catch that little bit of flour that always seems to be on top, try to keep the folding paper top together, but open one side like a milk carton.
Open resealable container of your choice, I have large plastic bins that hold 10lbs of flour quite nicely. Big round container with handles and a lid.
Dump flour into container, slow-ish so it doesn't poof into the air
Seal container, use dry paper towel, rag, or vacuum to clean the small amount that probably came off the paper top.
I usually give the open top a flick with my finger over the trash can to dislodge as much as possible before going to the counter.
I really can't think of a better way to package it, other ways are either taking up more space than needed, or uses plastic/metal. Plastic is a non-starter for me, and metal would drastically increase price. It's a cost-effective way of tansporting a cheap product. Just don't get it wet lol
You're supposed to dump it into a sealable container
I usually leave them in the bags. But for sugar I put them into a different container. You can do the same with flour.
Amazing.
Just get a little clip :3
Fold, roll, and keep closed with some painters tape. If it’s needed daily, get a tub with a lid.
It’s a bag of flour, you don’t pour from it, you scoop from it.
I just fold it over twice and put a clothes peg on it.
It's more or less like a double seam, which is surprisingly effective at closing something off. Like, if you do that with a plastic bag, it's close to airtight...
My wife likes to stack stuff, so with it folded and rolled correctly (it’s more or less just keep folding till it’s flat) it allows you to maximize some space. The flour is a once every couple weeks unless I’m on a bread binge. Tape keeps its closed for when shuffling stuff around.
I put new flour into a sealable container once I get home. A little bit usually gets onto the counter, but a damp rag can handle it. I found that the trick is to slowly move flour into the new container using a scoop until the bag is about a quarter empty. I used to just dump the bag, but that makes it spill more and is a harder to clean up after.
You can also put the container on its side, put the opened bag into it (so that it would be upside down) and then erect the container
Hot
Entirely paper packaging. I would argue this really is optimal packaging. I've got an air tight glass jar that I decant to.
i have a roughly flour-bag-sized airtight storage container, and then i keep that ensemble in the freezer bc i was raised to believe that made a difference somehow
2-3 days in the freezer is recommended to kill weevil eggs, but not necessary for long term storage.
My flour doesn't last that long
It just gets used up too quickly lol
i’m jealous! i’m finally cooking more, but i’m hardly baking at all. gotta just try meat pies or something else simple.
Quick breads are your friend. Banana bread, carrot cake, pumpkin bread, zucchini bread are all super quick and easy. Can be done as loaves or muffins. Shelf stable for a few days or store them in the fridge for longer or freeze.
thank you!! i’ll have a lil forray into breads once i finish with hot sauce ^^
Used to be fabric bags. Then in the depression the flour companies realized their customers were making clothing out of the bags, so they started using cool prints for the bags.
The paper bags are actually superior to fabric in almost every way.
The old fabric sacks let in bugs a lot easier, and you’d end up with weevils. Paper sacks are far better at preventing bugs. It also prevents dust explosions at the industrial level from static electricity. Flour is surprisingly explosive.
You can still get flour in cotton sacks though. Blue Bird flour comes in reusable cotton sacks.
im still troubled by the fact that in the west there is no way to go get flour by weight in whatever jar, box, bag u bring. pre-packaged is the only way it seems
Almost every grocery store has bulk sections. Whether you can use your own container varies but plastic bag is always available.
thats great! i have heard that wasnt the case
I have a grocery store near me called WinCo. They're all over the western United states. You can walk into any of them and they have a bulk section and you can grab however much you need. You don't typically bring your own container for that but I don't believe it's disallowed. There are other bulk stores around but typically most people don't purchase them in bulk they usually just purchase a couple pounds at a time and that's plenty to be able to last them as long as they need it.
ohh thats pretty good
Some organic stores in Europe have this option, but usually you have to use the paper bags they supply.
How is flour sold in the east?
u can ofcourse find stores that have pre-packaged stuff, usually bigger or richer groceries stores. other places u can get the exact quantity you need in either a bag the shop offers or one u bring. bringing urs is better if possible for like jars and stuff so u dont have to then spill or deal with filling later.
what i prefer is going to a flour mill directly and getting the exact milling i want of the flour. same goes for meat, spices/herbs, dairy, u get the best if u go to the shop of the farmer or butcher or miller directly. never lived in an (urban) place that didnt have them in like 10-15 minutes distance at most
tasting history video that talks about similar markets in europe in history: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R45P-Yu_Mjw
Same goes for gallons of non-tap water. Why can't I wheel in a barrel and get it filled from a tank?
You can, though? There are cheap by the gallon water filter machines in grocery stores. Bring your barrel.
Where? I have never seen anything like that in a regular grocery store.
Here they are in Walmart groceries, Whole foods, Sprouts, Publix, and outside of a few others, and some of the ice machines around also do filtered water.
We have literally none of those here.
Not where I shop, but I'll look around next time I go elsewhere.
Yeah I mean any of the Walmarts in my area any of the Smiths in my area which is owned by Kroger and I've been to many many states and I'd say a good half to three quarters of the grocery stores have a self-fill area to be able to fill up your water. And it's much cheaper because of course you're just picking up the water at that point you're not paying for the container.
u can where i am
Can you imagine how much of a fucking mess people would make out of self serve bulk flour?
yea cause u are thinking of self serve. we have helpers and clerks that is also horrible that they have gotten rid of in west (from what i hear)
blaming the customers is the wrong front
IMO glass jars are perfect for anything. Just buy it in paper and then transfer it into glass. I love having bunch of glass jars to use for pretty much anything I wanna store and you can just reuse then from other stuff you already bought. That reminds me I need to buy pickles.
A intentional glass container can be strong tempered glass. Reused food container glass is okay but they'll shatter into sharp pieces when dropped.
Pickles? Did you say pickles? :3
Misleading username, should be pickle_enjoyer42
maybe i should make an alt...
Personally, I love sucking pickles, and I love the taste of the juice that bursts inside my mouth when I bite on the tip. And if there’s enough pickles from different sources, sometimes I’ll just combine their juice in a jar and drink it all at once! I also love the variety! Pickles come in all shapes and sizes, and they can be either soft or hard (I prefer larger hard pickles).
I need more "pickles" in my life...
Whoa now, I think we might be talking about different things! I think you’re talking about the pickled fruit snack, I’m clearly talking about sucking cock!
"It's technically a fruit" has gone too far. Cucumbers are vegetables. Also, I know exactly what we're talking about, and... mmmfgh.,...,
pickles are love pickles are life
anything fermented actually
olives :3
Thank you for reminding me that I have some green olives to snack on :) Delicious 😋
On this topic, you should check out lupin beans. They're yet another salty jarred food :3
I've never tasted those in particular but I know my cousin really likes them. I just never had the opportunity to try them yet! But I'm fairly sure I'll like them!
Sauerkraut, pistachios, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, almonds, nuts, all of that make great snacks
And should I start talking about all the different cheeses?? 😋
I love nuts and seeds :3 They're so crunchy and snackish! Like, i can just grab a handful and pop 'em in a few at a time.
As for cheese... I'd say I miss it, but I don't; vegan "cheese" tastes pretty much identical lol.
I worry about those with severe cases of Celiac's disease, who are affected by flour dust. The paper flour bags leak and kick up flour dust when handled.
It is not the glutein that is the culprit, according to some people in the science community, it was in an article in the new yorker i read maybe 13 years back, I could maybe find the article but it's paywalled.
But the search engines don't return what you are asking for now, so maybe I can't find it. Prior to 2021 I could though.
This is correct. Every package of flour I have bought has leaked flour.
Paper with black bars
Just sell you a bag of wheat to crush at home
Whole grains stay fresh longer...
